A fourth man, Stephen Goode, was employed by Barrington to strip down the cars. The 45-year-old, of Gloucester Road in Coleford, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to handling stolen goods.

But he was given a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, by Mr Horton who said he had been exploited by Barrington.

Although the criminal prosecution focused on 18 stolen vehicles entering the yard, a wider investigation by Gloucestershire Police found that a total of 37 cars worth £820,000 had gone through its gates between November 2016 and June 2017.

As well as London, vehicles also came in from the East Midlands and Surrey.

They were stolen from the owners’ front driveways with sophisticated technology such as a ‘Legend’ device, used to clone a keyless fob and start a vehicle’s engine.

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More about crime in Leicester

Heron, who ran a vehicle recovery firm in Bromley, would drive the cars to the yard, while Harding would follow in another vehicle to take the pair back home.

Brian Stock, defending Heron, said: “Mr Heron did not play a leading role, he clearly played an important role. He didn’t make significant amounts of money from this.”

How the gang stole the cars

The devices look simple enough - one is called a Legend and is a rectangular plastic box, the other is a Turbo Decoder and looks like a simple-enough key.

But both provided the tools behind a six-figure racket which saw dozens of stolen 4x4 vehicles bought to a breakers yard in the Forest of Dean.

The decoder gets the thief into the car while the Legend plugs into the vehicle diagnostic system and allows the user to start the engine and drive away.

Both items can be purchased legally online for a combined total of £700.

The vehicles were mainly stolen from the front driveways of homes in suburban areas of London, Northampton and Leicester, before being driven to the secluded yard for resale or dismantling for parts.

The equipment for this is readily available and the thief can use these items to steal vehicles.

The criminal can then hide the vehicle’s identity, placing new number plates on it which share the same registration as an identical car make and colour in order to stay clear of the attention of police.

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Claire Leslie, defending Harding, said: “He [Harding] was some way down the pecking order. Mr Barrington was central.”

Barrington’s father Michael Fear, 58, of Parc Road, Gwent, pleaded guilty to two counts of handling stolen goods, after two stolen vehicles, including a Land Rover worth £47,000 were found at his home.

He received a 26-month prison sentence.

Daniel Hayler, 28, of Violet Gardens, Croyden, and Gavin Wroe, 49, of Lords Gate, Coleford, were found not guilty of conspiracy to handle stolen goods after a six-week trial.